I hope everyone had a great 4th of July weekend! We just got back from an extended weekend in Durham. We headed to NC on Thursday to visit my brother and sister-in-law.
Heading down to NC…towards the end of the trip, we broke down and gave the kiddos the iPads so they could play a few educational games. It kept them occupied until we arrived close to dinner. My sister-in-law cooked a yummy meal of salmon, black bean quinoa salad (it was so yummy! Even my non-eating salad husband ate it and liked it!), and peas. We hung out and visited all evening. Will and Harper enjoyed playing on their porch. Bright and early on July 4th, we headed to a local donut and biscuit shop called Rise. Yummy! They have some delicious donuts and biscuits. I shared an egg and cheese biscuit with the kiddos and split a creme brûlée donut with my husband.
Will really wanted the Cap’n Crunch with strawberry glaze donut so daddy went back in after we finished breakfast and ordered one to split with Harper. Rise has some unique specialty donuts, including their 4th of July donut that had pop rocks on it! I like how they organize their menu: old school donuts, new school, our school. After breakfast, we headed straight to the Museum of Life and Science. My sister-in-law works for a large company in Durham and had a special pass for free tickets to the museum. We just had to pay for one kiddo.
The museum was lots of fun! We walked around outside for a while and saw some lemurs and wolves and watched the release of butterflies, including some really pretty blue ones. Of course, we found a play area at the museum and spent most of the time there, ha!We headed back to my brother’s house for a quick lunch and then naps for the kids. After naps, we went to a 4th of July picnic at their friends’ house. Fortunately, most of their friends have small children (my brother and sister-in-law do not have kiddos yet), so there were other kiddos at the picnic and the house was quite kid friendly. Enjoying some homemade fudge pops! I need to find a recipe for this…they were yummy!After the picnic, we went to the Durham Bulls Stadium to watch the USA play Chinese Taipei. Last year, we got to see the Durham Bulls play on the 4th.
While it was difficult keeping a two year old and a four year old occupied and interested during the entire baseball game, it was definitely worth it to see the fun fireworks at the end!
Whew-what a fun filled day! The kiddos were worn out by the time we arrived home after eleven pm. The next day we slept in, enjoyed some waffles and fruit for breakfast, and headed to the farmer’s market. After walking around the market, we went to a local pool.
Sunbathing Harper…
and Will…After the pool, it was back to my brother’s house for naps before enjoying a delicious dinner at a barbecue restaurant called The Pit. We met up with my brother’s college roommate, his wife, and parents. Everyone ordered a dish and we shared the meal family style. Yummy fried chicken, mac and cheese, sweet potato fries, hush puppies, and slaw. The kiddos had been asking to get ice cream during our trip to Durham, so we walked several blocks to a local ice cream shop called The Parlour. I enjoyed a scoop of some of the best salted caramel ice cream I’ve ever had! Harper and Will had a small scoop of Thin Mint. The Parlour had some interesting flavors, including summer corn and lavender with blueberry swirl. The kids were so worn out from our fun trip that they slept until 9am on Sunday morning! Unbelievable! They’ve never slept that late, EVER!
My sister-in-law made some blueberry pancakes for breakfast (per Will’s request), and shortly after eating we headed home.
Harper having some last minute fun with her uncle. Heading home…We had a fun, super busy time in Durham with our cool aunt and uncle! Harper and Will keep asking when we are going back!